Elastic Collisions

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

This brief essay is a response to this story about Harvard Universities average grade being an A-.I've been lead to believe that ivy league schools are expensive so one may say they have been there, thus showing they have some prior amount of wealth and status (that usually comes with wealth unless you are very, very new money). People are lead to believe that these schools offer higher education and churn out brighter minds because of a campuses educational infrastructure and history. This is not to say that ivy league schools do not have greater amounts of bright minds, that may be true. But it would be more accurate to give credit to other factors than the academic infrastructure of the western education system.

Factors like having a rich networking pool, better campus resources & general safety & support from school faculty give agency to a broader spectrum of students. A simpler explanation for the success of students from ivy league schools is that the students enter already in a state of success by proxy.

In Harvard's case we have a homogenized education system; education requirements are reduced or altered so everyone is lead to believe they are a bright mind which removes the essence from education. This is different than some European & Asian models (still far from perfect) which creates a system where education is mostly the same, for all, but not at the cost of reducing the curriculum. Instead it's at the cost of overworking students.Fixing the problem will be difficult, but there's a reason to fix it: Better education is important not just for
some meaning of benevolence but it's also economically beneficial
(Jeffery Sachs has a chapter dedicated to this in "The Price of
Civilization") . Fixing it will require looking at fundamental methods of teaching. We cannot just put more money into a broken education system and hope that it will produce better students the way ivy league schools sometimes can, & this is only a small margin due to having better infrastructure. There are fundamental issues with education and there are arguements still to consider, such as the Hegelian thoughts on workers education versus one of the plutocracy.A major way to help this problem in education would be to remove competetive grading. This is done in most private schools and some European countries, all that rank higher in education than the United States.

Another way to fix the problem of grade fixing and education catering to those that want success by proxy at the cost of those that want an education everywhere else would be to teach chemistry instead of recipe. This is an example from Bertrand Russell that offers a choice; would you rather teach a cook the chemistry of cooking, why things turn black when you cook them, how to tell when food is done by listening to a sizzle, the changes in properties of chemicals while cooking, or.... would you rather give them a recipe and teach them how to do. That. Recipe.

Homogenized education systems like Harvard's are like resort get away destination vacation packages. You could fly in any direction you pick, land in an island of mystery, wonder, history and life, only to be carted straight through to a Starbucks, past the shoe shiner and straight to the swim up bar where watered down, pre-mixed tequila's await and we're only two hours away from a show by a Tony Bennett cover artist. The same experience, every week, for as long possible as long as it's profitable.

After the Reddit post there seemed to be a influx of Disney/anti-Semite/art-hater trolls claiming that the individuals that swam to the closed island risked *the ticket prices of Disney being higher if they were somehow harmed*. They weren't worried about the story or the outcomes for the individuals, they were worried about the story & outcome for *Disney* and their ticket prices. Also, the possible savings for their family/themselves (I wonder what percentage of patrons at Disney theme parks travel/attend alone).

Here's the post that got me irked:

"Cool pictures. Dumb stunt.I'm glad it turned out well, but I
don't like to think of the impact on my ticket prices if you'd been
injured/killed. Disney would have been sued (and probably won given that
the activity being undertaken was against at LEAST Disney policy), but
lawsuits cost money and the additional safety precautions that came
about would have cost money too.Please don't go out of your way to make life more restrictive and more expensive for everyone else, OK?"

And my response:

I cannot believe the trolls here who complain that somehow the blogger, Mr. Shane Perez, is screwing over patrons of Disney by potentially making ticket prices higher if he or his fellow adventurers were somehow injured.

This is missing the forest for the trees.

Disney is the IBM of WW2. Actually, Disney is the Disney of its whole existence; destroying the lives of artists (Disney and Target Screw the Little Guy) (see also Disney Shuts Down LucasArts), squeezing blood from stones (Dali Worked with Disney), butchering classics (7 Classic Disney Movies Based on R-Rated Stories) & rampant racism/propaganda (Mickey Mouse & Racial Epitaphs).

Note; I used to sell vacation packages for Disney during a stint as a travel agent. One of the worst experiences of my life; trying to convince people to go to a vapid, racist location that is also one of the worst vacation values imaginable.

So to whoever wrote this:

Anonymous1/21/12, 3:30 PM "Cool pictures. Dumb stunt... Please don't go out of your way to make life more restrictive and more expensive for everyone else, OK?"

I say: you're a troll who works for Disney and/or one of the half asleep sheep of this world. If it's the former, hope one day your pocket book is full enough for these sort of embarrassments to be not required for you to make rent. Or, if it is what you believe, I hope one day you do everyone close to you in your life a favor and care more for your local community and fellow man.

Shame on anyone for attempting to discredit the benevolence of adventure for the sake of empowering the oligarchy.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

The current social climate & general awareness of our species self-accelerated extinction has left the world, perhaps justifiably, with an over-saturation of dystopian stories. Zombie apocalypse is now its own genre with small variations of format; fast zombies, zombies in Europe, zombies in snow, paleo-zombies, vampire zombies... Like many other people I have gone through periods of indulging in these dystopian stories in one format or another. At first I suspected that such enjoyment originated from the love of macabre that seems to permeate into some aspect of every depressed persons life, but after some time I begin to conclude that the love of stories about societies fall are more complex than that. Going further, that dystopian stories are effective as a warning message but will always fall one step back of solving societies problems because the very nature of a dystopian novel is the fall of society.Today there is a need to 'fight back' by demanding, or creating, more Utopian stories as a way of commenting on the problems with the world today while also offering possible solutions; where dystopia glances Utopia inquires & acts.There are three main stages of realization of life; the first is how to survive which involves learning (how to eat, walk, climb a tree, etc), drama (relationships, stubbing a toe) and comedy (watching someone else stub their toe). Then there's surviving at a consistent pace (also known as "being in a rut") and with this comes boredom and depression which people satisfy with illusions like the offerings of the entertainment industry which is over saturated in advertisements, promotes wasteful excess & is almost always vapid and often times immoral.When one is surviving/in-a-rut they eventually become depressed, wanting 'more'. This is when people turn to dystopian storytelling, for a two fold reason. First, dystopian stories show that there is an existence worse than our own (a strange form of shock doctrine) that, even though it is fictional, usually does not stray to far from reality (for example; the failure of nuclear deterrence during the cold war is often used as the starting point for dystopian stories). Second, dystopian novels offer a way for in-a-rut/frustrated/confused/angry people to soothe their evolving presuppositions.The final stage is trying to change things around a person that affect their life in a manner that brings success (not monetary), & this is where the theme of Utopia excels. When one is surviving and 'in-a-rut' they start to question presuppositions to life (what we have to know without knowing of it). Questions come up such as what do I do next or how come other people aren't able to be complacent or, the usual big one, what is the meaning to our/this/a life. Looking for meaning to life is like looking for meaning in nature; something that's capable of both waterfalls & AIDS, rainbows & tsunamis, diversity & chaos. Life 'is'; it exists therefore we are. This means that there is reason for our species to try to control nature due to its unpredictability. Imagine if the tornadoes that have ravaged the Midwest for years, 7 times in Oklahoma in about as many years (ABC News), had their terrible power weakened or deflected. While this is not possible & an extreme example it only helps illustrate the validity of exploring certain aspects of nature to better our species. I believe no one would argue that manipulating nature in a careful & consistent manner is desirable for our species, even among organic farmers & those that are ecologically minded. This is because organic farming itself is a manipulation of nature, but a good one, much as removing cancer is a manipulation of nature. That's not to say that GMO food is the answer to food production, which is potentially just as absurd as denying modern cancer treatment if available (and insured) or not improving preventive medicine.Those that work hard to question the loose regulations of the industrial food industry are wise to do so; hardly any research goes into modified crops & no one likes walking through a mine field blindfolded. Still, if nature were to run completely on its own that would not be the ideal situation for our species. So one should not become complacent but one should learn where to direct their energy so that they can have a life where their actions affect the things around them. That brings us to the third stage of the realization of life; Utopia or active change.The concept of utopia is frustrating because "people see that utopia is possible in there lifetime, right now, but it is not happening" (The Year of Dreaming Dangerously, Zizek). These reasons are due to poverty, education, healthcare & ability to live/work/do-what-you-do/whatever-you-want-to-call-it being possible for all but not distributed fairly. Fixing poverty is not something I want to say is simple because I am not qualified to make that generalization but anyone can easily find proof of bad behavior from the super-rich that imbalances the world. This is a historical trope through time; those in power that have been abused will abuse those they try to subjugate, usually by reducing agency & income under the mask of efficiency, nationalism and job creation. Considering this, the next step is to locate where to start creating a better balance. That would be by reducing the size of the largest entities that are destroying the source, much how cloning insects will decimate a plant by feeding on its chloroplast to the point of killing itself. This happens in an ecosystem if the insect is not practicing niche separation (this is usually due to an invasive species, botanically meaning non-native). The source is the economy/citizens/raw-resources but in a more physical sense. The silly notion of constant perpetual wealth must not be completely destroyed, as that would so damage the illusion of those entranced they would not be able to handle the change (and indeed may riot themselves) but simply capped or changed to prevent such flagrant abuse, much like using niche separation & population control so that both the mentioned insect & plant survive. Consider the separation of church and state; neither wanted the other removed but through time they have challenged each other when the other gets to large. The third player, the market based economy, entered the ring (for the West) a few hundred years ago (arguably around the 16th-17th century) & now battles with the other two. Regarding poverty, consider that the top 100 richest people in the world could end poverty according to Oxfam. Seventeen organizations form the confederacy that is Oxfam who work in over 90 countries to try to create a "just world without poverty" & they "envision a world in which people can influence decisions which affect their lives, enjoy their rights, and assume their responsibilities as full citizens of a world in which all human beings are valued and treated equally." (Oxfam International) While the giants of religion, state & economy battle over who gets to destroy the source the quickest the general public suffers. Since this is a long historical trope (for those that disagree please see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levellers) there have always been forecasters of both the problems & possible future for society & it's economy (since the two are so intertwined/connected). Economists like Jeffrey Sachs have said that "Extreme poverty can be ended, not in the time of our grandchildren, but our time." (Earth Institute). Adding to the frustration are statistics from Oxfam Canada that reveal the world produces 17% more food per person today than 30 years ago (Oxfam Canada) but more than 14% of the worlds population goes hungry, possibly much more (World Hunger Education). These conditions cause people to have a general feeling of uncertainty & frustration which causes dystopian stories to becoming alluring, usually as a form of releasing those frustrations and uncertainties. This can be a tragic thing; dystopian storytelling takes energy away from individuals that could instead make active change. Aaron Swartz, one of the creators of Reddit who was persecuted for downloading to many academic articles (this lead to his suicide) wrote:"No, you can’t force other people to change. You can, however, change just about everything else. And usually, that’s enough" (Raw Thought).The importance of having agency to make change is obvious; its a silent presupposition. This agency has been continually reduced among the general people across the world, a trope that emerges when any organization/entity becomes to large with unchecked power/to-fail. This brings me to the final stage of this 3 stage approach of realization of life; working to make things better, working for the utopia. This is a life long step where one moves in a direction toward solving the problem rather than being a part of the problem. Being active in ones community is a cornerstone of this as well as questioning problems so they are properly identified. This allows for more efficient policy making as well as general thinking. It's important to note that actively working for the better conditions and agency of the general population is usually a gradual change & does not happen overnight or easily. On the plus side, it doesn't taste bitter in the slightest & becomes preferable in time.Some people may not want to get involved or work harder toward better communities because it does not provide a quick or easy route to happiness. The role of happiness is important to consider because it is unethical, but not mutually exclusive, from Utopia. Working for the better of others should not be about happiness. Happiness should not even be a goal, but it is a wonderful side effect that happens when people can influence decisions which affect their lives. Consider the arctic climber who screams joy at the top of his lungs only to sit shocked in belief, all over an old stash of cheese doodles (Basic Needs, Extreme Happiness). When asked what makes happiness the climber said "30 days of starvation" (Radiolab). So happiness comes from sometimes arbitrary things. Happiness can also be used in a negative way which is most easily noted in any form of shock doctrine to control populations as seen in Pinochet’s coup in Chile in 1973, the Falklands War in 1982, the
Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, the collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991, the Asian Financial crisis in 1997 and Hurricane Mitch in 1998. In short, happiness is not a barometer for living life in a moral or efficient way. Zizek had this to say on happiness:"You can be happy without being moral. You can be happy without being interesting or engaged in the world around you. You can be happy without having a single creative idea or interest or passion. You can get everything you desire, and still not be happy. So why even focus on finding bliss?" (Big Think)If understanding the problems to life seem difficult then fixing them can seem almost insurmountable. Still, the cart must come before the horse. Instead of a Utopian story that goes back, usually circa WW2 to re-imagine how our society could of been through alternative history games, there should be utopian novels and serials in all mediums that imagine the very realistic possibility of Utopia being achieved right now, in real life.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Empires
have historically thrown a smokescreen of innocence over forms of
censorship that's purpose is to disingenuously control a population.
One of the earliest manifestations of censorship comes from England
around 1530 & continues until the 1660's. The lack of a public
forums during this time translated into information that was easy for
the Monarch to control; whenever a public forum gained to much
popularity (usually through theater and the arts) England was quick
to assign a Master of Revels, a group that pre-censors all content
not from the crown . While laws are altered after the English
Revolution the most substantial change had its catalyst with the
publication of John Milton's Areopagitica in 1664. In this
appeal, which originally circulated as an illegally printed pamphlet,
is a challenge to the states position on censorship and an attempt by
Milton to redefine an English citizens silent presuppositions to
knowledge.

Silent
presupposition is that which “teaches us what we have to know
without knowing it in order to function” (Zizek).
At the time of Areopagitica's publication the state was
censoring the press for the the apparent good of the people for so
many generations it had changed the instinctual responses citizens
had to censorship. The public was told there was no right for a place
of philosophical discourse. This is an early example of shock
doctrine; by creating a situation of increasingly reduced agency
parliament would justify it's actions as being better than the
alternative when it's actions would only diminish the source. The
real reason for the early days of censorship of the press was to create a form
of control for state benefit at the cost of the unknowing people.

By
radically rearranging the qualities of what defines knowledge Milton
uses the emerging state tools of nationalism to change parliament's
opinion to the side of the public. He starts his theory by analyzing
the human condition through a biblical lens when he writes that those
“who imagine to remove sin by removing the matter of sin” are
hopeless. Even if one were to “banish all objects of lust, shut up
all youth into the severest discipline that can be exercised in any
hermitage, ye cannot make them chaste that come thither...”
(Longman p1719), Milton argued that sin is a constant temptation for
humankind and always present, removing it would be like trying to
remove every grain of sand from the ocean. Furthermore to do so would
go against the design of temptation & choice in nature (or god's
design). To those that would feel reading itself goes against the
human condition or that knowledge is “evil” Milton argues that
“though some part of it (sin) may for a time be withdrawn from some
persons, it cannot from all, in such a universal thing as books are;
and when this is done, yet the sin remain entire“ (Longman
p1719). To put it in
other words if a form of press has sinful information on its pages
its still up to interpretation by the individual and that
interpretation would be impossible without both good and evil
existing. This gives agency back to the public and away from groups
like the Master of Revels by putting control of source material in
the hands of everyone.

Parliament would cite one reason of censorship is to prevent
dangerous ideas and schisms from developing. Milton argues that if
“the men be erroneous who appear to be leading the schismatics”
the way to correct this is by debating with “distrust in the right
cause”, if “not for their sakes, yet for our own” (Longman
p1723)? Milton further defends his theory by describing public
debate as a positive thing for the country: “opinion in good men is
but knowledge in the making” & argues that major characters in
biblical history were educated like Moses and David. Even more
spectacular is how Milton defends the value of flawed opinions when
he writes that “the knowledge of good is so involved and interwoven
with the knowledge of evil” Even wrong opinions are important for
Milton when he writes that good & evil, in its “many cunning
resemblances hardly to be discerned”, are necessary because “that
is to say of knowing good by evil” (Longman p1717), There is no way
to have good without evil & god has given every person the
ability to reason since Adam.

Milton brings agency back to the people by carefully placing power
in their hands. Instead of asking the commoner to conform to the laws
of parliament, Milton argues that the English should “be more
considerate builders, more wise in spiritual architecture, when great
reformation is expected.” (Longman, p1724) This line turns every
reader into an active creator of their national identity.

Milton uses a more recognizable form of nationalism when he
personifies the nation: “Methinks I see in my mind a noble and
puissant nation, rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and
shaking her invincible locks” (Longman 1724). While in modern times
this reads like zealous patriotism or that Milton is making a
compliment, it's also a prophecy of the outcome to his theory and
further proof that that no one should “suppress all this flowery
crop of knowledge” from “springing daily” (Longman 1724).
Milton has carefully maneuvered himself, by analyzing the morality of
free opinion through a biblical lens, into position where he feels he
can attack censorship directly with public support. Milton goes even
further with relating to his religious audience when he makes opinion
holy. In a clever fashion Milton writes that “For who knows not
that truth is strong, next to the almighty.” (Longman 1725) Milton
uses language that suggest truth being godly is common sense,
re-defining a part of English silent presuppositions in medias res.

Areopagitica
is a radical text at a time when text itself is a radical possession
but still manages to promote some form of censorship. At one hand
Milton argues that books are useful and that licensing is “a
dishonor and derogation to the author, to the book, to the privilege
of dignity or Learning” and that if “we think to regulate
printing” then “we must regulate all recreations and pastimes...”
(Longman 1719). The author attacks licensing laws directly when he
argues that regulations claims its role is to prevent the “infection”
of bad ideas but that this is inefficient because to licensing can
never stop social corruption. Milton goes further when he points that
censorship could slow down divine plans which would cause more
corruption.

On
the other hand Milton shows he would censor, even pull from the root,
certain text: “I mean not tolerated popery and open superstition,
which, as it extirpates all religions and civil supremacies, so
itself should be extirpate, provided first that all charitable and
compassionate means be used to win the weak and misled...”
(Longman 1726). Milton still has elements of control in his
definition of English silent presuppositions; while it is just, good
and holy not to censor any author or idea it is equally unjust, evil
and pagan to “interrupt the unity of spirit”. Essentially Milton
is setting up a fail safe against heretical ideas based on his
writing in Areopagitica.
If anyone disagrees with his theory Milton can easily point them out
as an interrupter of unity & have their work destroyed, an active
form of censorship and seemingly unnecessary when Milton himself
argues the usefulness of bad ideas and sinful books. It's also a
direct contradiction considering Milton's opinion that “he who
destroys a good book kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as
it were in the eye” (HumanitiesWeb).

Miltons
greatest success in his theory on censorship is found in the prose
itself. The writer masterfully appeals to every sensibility of every
major demographic with sentiment triumphing over sentimentality while
carefully selecting which aspects of government to critique &
only after blows have been softened. Milton will typically begin with
a brief defense of an idea and then finish with a furious volley of
opinion. Consider that the beginning of Areopagitica
is a defense of Areopagitica
itself, with Milton calling up the ancestral images of Spenser before
stating “the knowledge and survey of vice is in this world so
necessary to the constitution of human virtue, and the scanning of
error to the confirmation of truth (Longman 1717).” Milton easily
defines knowledge as a positive human virtue by playing on the idea
of silent presupposition; the author defines knowledge as good
because it is, one should just know it. According to Milton, every
human should have an instinctual response that public knowledge is a
virtue because knowledge can help identify good and evil. Milton
compares this identification to the story of Adam and the apple when
he writes that Adam was “knowing of good by evil” (Longman 1717),
as being a necessity. In two paragraphs, under the filter of
academic and papal nostalgia, Milton has laid a logical foundation
for the justification of his illegal printing to both the scientist
and the priest.

Nationalism
is still the same idea since its not-so-long-ago inception; turning
the abstract idea of a nation into a real power. Writers of today
should still be looking to Milton's Areopagitica,
which shows the successful passive/aggressive style that Milton
camouflages in his writing with nostalgia, history and invoking
virtues onto ideas through presupposition. Eventually these
presuppositions become silent in the reverse; instead of citizens of
the 17th
century instinctively assuming that knowledge is evil because the
state told them so for many generations, they instinctively &
accurately assume censorship removes agency because of the work of
people like John Milton staying relevant through generations.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Almost
everyone on the planet has had their life improved by biomimicry,
“the design of production of materials, structures, and systems
that are modeled on biological entities and processes.” (Oxford
Dictionary). Another way of describing biomimicry would be
technology by man inspired by nature. There's good reason to look
toward biomimicry; billions of years of evolution have lead to many
examples of complex diversity in nature. Many sustainable
technologies & products have been created because of people
examining nature's existing efficiency, with a broad range that
includes passive cooling technology inspired by termites, whale
powered wind turbines, gecko infused tape and, most easily
recognizable due to it's many uses and longevity, Velcro.

Velcro
was designed in 1941 & patented in 1955 by Swiss electrical
engineer & hunting enthusiast George de Mestal (Hall of fame
inventor Profile). De Mestral's imagination was sparked by returning
home from a hunting trip one day & examining the recently plucked
burrs that stuck to his jacket & his dogs fur (Gregory). Burrs,
which are generally attached to a seed or dry fruit, have hooks as
both a means to protect the plant from herbivores & also as a
means of seed dispersal. De
Mestral took some of the burs and examined them under a microscope.
What he saw was hook-like seeds meshed with hooped fibers gripping
and fastening to each other. De Mestral considered that the adhesive
qualities of plants with burrs could be useful when applied to
everyday life, an example of biomimicry in action.

It's
somewhat ironic that de Mestral was inspired by a part of a plant in
nature that was, until that point, only an annoyance for humans. It
turns out the inventor was also as tenacious as the burrs themselves;
his idea did not win over investors after it's inception. Another
ironic spot in the life of de Mestral considering he received his
first patent at the age of 12 only to be “severely” & “openly
laughed at” (Thomas) when he initially pitches his greatest idea
yet.

After three years
of work de Mestral finally had his initial design completed: two
lineal cotton fabric strips, or round squares, sewn or adhered to
opposite sides. The first fabric strip had 300 hooks per square inch
and the second fabric strip had 300 loops per square inch (Thomas).
The initial design worked by not as effectively due to being made of
cotton.

Cotton
is a fluffy fiber that grows around seeds of a shrub plant from a
genus called Gossypium. The fiber is around 90% cellulose which is a
polysaccharide (long string of carbohydrate molecules joined
together) comprised mostly of glucose. Cotton is spun into a yarn and
is then turned into a flatter material. After this refinement the
cotton is still fluffy and proved to be a poor material to create
what would become Velcro. Eventually de Mestral discovered that he
could create the texture needed by sewing nylon under an ultra violet
light, causing the material to be both burned & sewn into the
shape (Strauss). After a couple years of production de Mestral was
producing over sixty million yards of Velcro per year. Today it's an
everyday item capable of supporting 175 pounds per two square inches
(Freeman) & is used in items ranging from pen holders to
automobiles.

Aristotle
has one of the earliest recorded comments about biomimicry,
commenting on how the Gecko can “run up and down a tree in any
way.” (Aristotle) One wonders what the philosopher would think of
modern times: recently a product has become available that harnesses
the gripping power of a Gecko's setae (small hair-life structures on
the foot of a Gecko) called Gecko Tape. Gecko Tape is made with
synthetic setea that emulates a Gecko's setae. It was developed
between a collaboration of the Manchester Center for Mesoscience and
Nanotechnology and the Institute for Microelectronics Technology in
Russia in 2001 after two year’s of research (Nature). The research
yielded a product that is powerful but still not as strong as the
feet of a Gecko. It turns out that little reptilian feet are
complex.

A gecko's foot has toe pads consisting of about a half
million setae made of keratine (a fibrous structural protein) and
each one of these has fine hairs with hundreds of small projections
called “spatulae” on a nanoscale at their ends (Nature). Robert
Full from the University of California was the first to discover that
the adhesion from Gecko feet was due to Van der Waals forces created
between the spatulae and the surface. Van der Waals forces are
“intermolecular forces created by induced polarization of
molecules” which “become significant on the micro and nanoscale.”
(Nature) But the mighty foot of the Gecko continues to hold
mysteries: Andre Grim, credited with being the father of synthesized
setae, found that capillary forces also aided with the Gecko's
adhesive ability. Capillary forces are “attractive forces created
by the surface tension of a molecular layer of absorbed water that
forms between two surfaces” (Nature). This lead to the development
of nanotubes of synthetic Gecko foot hair, which when applied to the
old synthetic satae formula creates a formula that could be
potentially stronger than the properties of a regular Gecko foot. At
the moment each hair has “the same adhesive force as a single gecko
setae.” (Shah).

Design cues from
mother nature don't just manifest as accidental inspiration for
alternatives to zippers or a better sticking roll of tape. Biomimicry
has also been used by architects to create more efficient sources of
energy.

WhalePower produces
giant blades for wind turbines as an alternate form of energy.
Already commercially available, WhalePower has an advantage over
other wind turbine designs; it's modeled after the “fluid dynamics
and biomechanics” (The Science | Whalepower) of a humpback whale
flippers.

Nature has given
the humpback whale a very efficient flipper. They provide lift and
reduce drag, channeling flow and increasing aerodynamic efficiency
due to tubercles (a round node in the bone or skin). When tubercles
are in human lungs we call this tuberculosis, however when they are
on the edge of humpback whale flippers they are called innovative. By
replicating the texture of the tubercles on humpback whale flippers
designers for WhalePower were able to craft a more efficient wind
turbine. Wind tunnel tests have shown that models of blades designed
with humpback whale tubercles, instead of smooth surface blades,
offer full dynamic improvements including a “32% reduction in drag,
8% improvement in lift, and a 40% increase in angle of attack of
smooth flippers before stalling.” (Fish) WhalePower is extending
this technology to hydroelectric turbines, irrigation pumps &
ventilation fans.

In
Harare, Zimbabwe, architects have looked toward termites as a way to
discover new building techniques. Termite mounds in Africa can rise
to heights of over thirty feet. To compare to a man made structure
that would be equal to a human erecting a building 2,743 feet high
(Steinu). These mounds have complex systems such as ventilation tubes
and tunnels that continue up to 200 feet underground. When comparing
this to human structures the termite structures are much larger. The
architects on the Eastgate Centre building in Harare know this,
that's why they are developing their high-rise buildings with a
design modeled after termite ventilation systems to maintain a
consistent temperature in their structures. These buildings, designed
under biomimicry principles, use no conventional air-conditioning or
heating yet stays regulated “year round with dramatically less
energy consumption using designed methods inspired by indigenous
Zimbabwean masonry and the self-cooling mounds of African Termites”
(Fahrenbacher).

Termites in
Zimbabwe feed on a specific type of fungus that must be regulated at
exactly 87 degrees Fahrenheit. This is quite the job for the small
termites as temperatures outside range from 35 degrees to 104 degrees
(Fahrenbacher). The termites regulate the mound by opening and
closing a series of heating and cooling vents. By digging new vents
and plugging old ones the termites are able to keep the fungus at its
appropriate temperature & enjoy a constant source of food.

The ventilation
system designed by termites is essential to the Eastgate Centre
high-rise tower design. Outside air is warmed or cooled by the
building mass itself which is determined by checking the temperature
of the concrete and the air. Air is continually drawing in by large
open spaces and fans on the first floor. Fresh air replaces stale air
and exits through ports in the ceiling of each floor. By doing this
structures end up using 10% less energy of conventional buildings of
its size, which has trickled directly to residents; rent is up to 20%
lower than the surrounding buildings of Eastgate Centre.

Humans have a
tendency to take things in nature and give it a human element. Many
times this makes something more accessible for the better of
humanity. For example, taking many randomly shaped stones and
refining it into a protective structure in a shape of a square.
Biomimicry is placed in a reversed but also welcoming context: it's
technology for us all, inspired by nature, to make objects with a
human element more efficient for humans. Biomimicry will continue to
improve the work of architects, scientists, designers, artists and
the rest of the world.